Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: £9,535 per year
International/EU: £17,155 per year (£1,200 for placement year) -
How long will I study?
3 / 4 Years
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Where will I study?
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What are the entry requirements?
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What is the UCAS code?
BB29
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When do I start?
September 2025
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Placement year available?
Yes
Course summary
- Analyse the social, cultural, and political impact of media, communication and cultural productions and industries on a variety of audiences.
- Use industry-standard tools to produce creative media content for local, national and global audiences.
- Apply your knowledge to professional contexts and scenarios including working with real clients and employers.
- Benefit from a year long work placement opportunity, setting you apart from the crowd, boosting your employability.
- Learn from and supported by industrial and academic experts among our teaching staff, who possess excellent pedagogic skills in the practice and research of fields within Media and Communication.
You will learn practical and theoretical subjects including creative media production, digital media technologies, audience research, cultural and media policy, industrial analysis, film and television storytelling and production studies.
The BA (Hons) Media and Communications course aims to provide you with well-rounded creative skills and knowledge, allowing you to experience, practice and critically evaluate the development, evolution and operation of local, national and global media, communication and cultural industries.
How you learn
All our courses are designed around key principles: engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.
You will learn to become a creative practitioner and academic researcher, linking theory and practice while discovering more about careers in the cultural and media industries.
You will utilise various tools and technologies in the production of creative media. You will also research and reflect on the social, cultural, political, and environmental impact of those productions. The course will have a combination of unique and shared modules.
The shared modules will be delivered with courses in Digital Media Production and Film Studies to offer you specialised skills in these subjects and industries.
Meanwhile, modules unique to this degree will equip you with transferable, analytical, and critical skills to interconnect your knowledge across sectors. This will open opportunities and routes for your future career and further education choices in the sector and beyond, allowing you to adapt to a dynamic career landscape in a variety of industries.
All our teaching staff are industrial and academic experts, with excellent pedagogic skills in the practice and research of fields within Media and Communication. On this course, you will experience effective, friendly, and enjoyable learning environments and creative, challenging, fun learning activities.
You will learn through, for example:
- Lectures
- Seminars
- Workshops
- Tutorials
- Live projects
- Virtual learning environment/resources
- Self-directed learning
Key themes
In the first year, you will learn fundamental knowledge, including basic skills in creative media production; analysing the global media industrial landscape; understanding target audiences and digital communication strategies, and exploring the history and evolution of media.
During the second year, you will be diving deeper, developing enhanced skills in understanding narratives and genres; the relationship between politics, the media, and popular culture; and some of the ways different identity groups have been represented in a range of media and cultural forms. You will also reflect on your practice in a professional environment to enhance your career readiness.
In the final year, your knowledge will be further deepened and broadened: you will explore the impact of digital media technologies; you will develop an understanding of the processes and people involved in global media and cultural industries; and you will identify and engage with marginalised media as platforms for diverse voices. Ultimately, you will utilise three years of learning to complete final independent projects or dissertations to address industry, academic and practical problems.
You will be supported throughout three years of learning by lecturers and academic advisors, by student support advisors and by employability advisors.
Course support
You will be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate level employment through a number of key areas. These include:
- access to our student support triangle to help with your personal, academic and career development.
- access to our Skills Centre with one-to-ones, webinars, and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments.
- industry-specific employability activities such as live projects, learning in simulated environments and networking opportunities.
Course leaders and tutors
Hantian Zhang
Senior Lecturer in MediaStaff profile for Hantian Zhang Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University
Applied learning
Work placements
In all years of the course, you will have the opportunity to engage in authentic work experience, in response to an exciting brief set by a client/employer. You’ll also be encouraged to arrange a year-long work placement in between the second and final year of the degree. This will give you valuable work experience to prepare you for your future career and allow you to graduate with an Applied Professional Diploma to add to your CV.
Live projects
Each year, you will work directly with employers and develop your entrepreneurship in the industry, not only boosting your career readiness but also building connections with professionals in key industry sectors.
In the first year, you will take on an Applied Project to work on professional briefs provided by clients within media industries.
In the second year, you will complete an enhanced applied project module to work directly with employers in a variety of media, cultural and creative industries.
In your final year, you will take on a consultancy activity by undertaking real world inquiry, investigation, and/or discovery through the exploration of a specific topic.
Field trips
You will have opportunities to join field trips to various locations that are enriched with the history, development and future of media, communication and culture to learn from the real world beyond the classroom. Potential field trip locations include the National Videogame Museum, International Slavery Museum, MediaCity UK
and Bletchley Park (actual field trip is subject to course/ module arrangement, and availability during the academic years)
Networking opportunities
Guest lectures delivered by industrial and academic experts will give you opportunities to meet and talk with key professionals, including those in the field of creative media production, film making, digital design, and communication studies. You will also have opportunities to attend careers fairs, including the annual Pathway employability event where you can meet employers from creative media industries. Furthermore, you will have chances to attend specialised events, such as Sheffield Docfest and York Aesthetica Film Festival to understand the keep up with the development in the Media and Communication industry (specific event opportunities are subject to course and module arrangement each academic year).Our careers services are available from your very first day at university and they are here to support you beyond graduation. Expert advisers can help you discover future careers, develop your professional skills, and enable you to stand out when you apply for jobs.
Future careers
This course prepares you for a career in
- Digital Media Marketing and Branding
- Social Media Management
- Digital Editing and Publishing
- Digital data analytics
- Audience and Client Research
- Project Management
- App/Web/UX Design
- Graphic Design
- Film and TV Production
- Curation
- Advertising
- Broadcasting
- Campaigns Director
- Civil Service
- Crisis management
- Events management
- Lobbying
- Local government
- Media relations
- Public affairs
- Public relations
- Public sector, including teaching.
- Voluntary sector, charities
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEquipment and facilities
You will be studying in a variety of university spaces, including lecture theatres, seminar rooms and computer labs. You will also have access to equipment and facilities including:
- Professional creative media software and hardware, including Adobe Creative Suite.g., Premiere Pro, Audition, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects) and professional video and audio capture equipment. The specific tools you are going to use will depend on the arrangement of individual modules.
- Academic research and writing tools such as Office 365 software set.
- Management and storage tools for your coursework and project,such as Microsoft One Drive
- Library resources including academic literature and databases.
- Virtual and online learning environments and tools, such as Microsoft Teams and Blackboard Ultra
Entry requirements
All students
UCAS points
- 112-120
This must include at least 64 points from two A levels or equivalent BTEC National qualifications, including at least 32 points in a relevant* subject. For example:
- BBC-BBB at A Level
- DDM in BTEC Extended Diploma.
- Merit overall from a T level Qualification
- A combination of qualifications, which must include 64 points from two A levels and may include AS Levels, EPQ and general studies. Where an applicant has not taken AS Level qualifications we may make a lower offer.
* Relevant subjects are: media studies, communication studies, film studies, English, creative writing, a foreign language, sociology, politics, history, psychology, accountancy, finance, business, economics, hospitality, events management, dance, performing arts, drama, theatre studies, geography, art and design, graphic design, IT/computing, music, sciences, sport, world development.
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
GCSE
- English Language at grade C or 4
- Maths at grade C or 4
Access - an Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2. At least 15 level 3 credits must be at merit grade or above, from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate.
If English is not your first language you must have an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills or equivalent.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.
You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.
Year 1
Compulsory modules
Creative Media Fundamentals
Key Developments In Media And Communications
Media Industries 1
User Experience Design (Ux)
Year 2
Compulsory modules
Identities, Representations And Politics 1
Identities, Representations And Politics 2
Screen Storytelling
Working In Cultural, Media And Creative Industries
Elective modules
Study Abroad - Creative Industries
Year 3
Optional modules
Placement Year
Final year
Compulsory modules
Digital Cultures And Technologies
Independent Project In Culture And Media
Media At The Margins
Media Industries 2
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students on full-time undergraduate courses in 2025/26 is £9,535 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year). These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £17,155 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.
Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Media, PR and journalism courses (PDF, 331.5KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
